September 12, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 12.09.2023, 19:15

Welfare. Some
2 million vulnerable households in Romania will benefit from fresh financial
aid starting this week. It’s the second instalment, worth 140 euros, for the
payment of bills for electricity, heat, gas and other fuels that can be
used to heat homes. The first tranche was disbursed at the beginning of the
year. In total, the amount received in 2023 by a family with financial problems
is 1,400 lei, from European funds. In another move, starting next month,
pensioners with incomes lower or equal to 3,000 lei (around 600 euros) will
benefit from the second instalment of the aid granted by the state.
Moreover, this year, the Romanian citizens belonging to vulnerable categories
are getting from the state social cards, which means 50 euros every two months
for food and warm meals. According to the Labour Minister, this measure
benefits approximately 2.5 million people.

Poetry. The
13th International Poetry Festival got under way in Bucharest on Monday. For
one week, the event, appreciated by specialists as one of the most watched in
Europe, brings together over 170 poets from 27 countries on four continents.
The programme includes meetings with poets, translators and publishers, public
readings, debates, round tables, poetry marathons or performances, but also theatre
shows, film screenings and concerts, exhibitions and events dedicated to
professionals. As part of the International Poetry Festival, a well-known and
popular project is also organised, the National Poetry Book Fair, which brings
to the fore recently published books of poetry.

NATO. The
Deputy Secretary General of NATO, the former Romanian foreign minister Mircea
Geoană, has stated that there are no indications that the Russian Federation
intends to attack a member state of the Alliance, but the concern of the
Romanian citizens who live near the Danube border with Ukraine is understandable.
My message, as a Romanian, is to try to have faith in the fact that the
North Atlantic Alliance has all the measures in place to ensure the protection
of the entire allied space, including Romania, Geoană also said. He
welcomed the US’s decision to add air policing missions in the Black Sea
area. In another development, a joint military exercise is taking place, until
Friday, in the Black Sea and the Danube Delta. 227 soldiers, including 164
Romanian and 63 foreign, are participating in the multinational exercise Sea Breeze,
organised by the United States of America for the first time in Romania. The training
contributes to increasing stability in the Black Sea region and ensuring
freedom of navigation, as a result of the Russian aggression against
Ukraine.

Schengen.
The growth of extremism should not be neglected but counteracted by showing
that the EU matters, said European Parliament president Roberta Metsola. She
said a decision to block the entry of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen
free-movement area risks leading to
multiplying those wishing to destroy Europe. Roberta Metsola also called on the EU to
prepare for a restart and reform. She also said that a bigger Europe is
stronger and safer in both political and economic terms. Her statements come 9
months after the Austrian government voted against the Schengen accession of
Romania and Bulgaria.

Tennis.
The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep on Tuesday received a four-year ban
from professional tennis from the International Tennis Integrity Agency, the
independent body that assessed her case. The decision is not final and can be
appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. A former
world no. 1, Halep played her last match a year ago before being suspended provisionally
for doping. The International Tennis Integrity Agency
postponed a ruling several times. Her hearings took place in London in July.
According to the Agency, Halep was charged with two separate doping offences.
The first was using a banned substance, roxadustat, at the US Open last year and the second relates to
irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport. (CM)